12th Generation E120 Toyota Corolla Thread (Hatch, Sedan, Cross, GR)

[Gecko]

Full rundown at Motor Trend: http://www.motortrend.com/cars/toyota/corolla/2019/2019-toyota-corolla-hatchback-first-look-review/

Can't believe how good (and premium!) this looks!

 

[krew]

This looks fantastic -- didn't doubt it, but still thrilled to see it coming to North America.

 

[F1 Silver Arrows]

Man I was so excited for this car until I saw the power levels.

https://www.toyota.com/upcoming-vehicles/corollahb/

Sporting an all-new 168-hp 2.0L Dynamic Force Engine, a next-generation platform that reduces weight and optimizes suspension geometry, and an intelligent rev-matching manual transmission, back-road thrills are never more than a short shift away. Or hone your paddle-shifting skills with our available Dynamic Shift-CVT, which combines the immediate response of a traditional First gear with the efficiency of a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT).

What is essentially 170 horsepower eclipses all of its competitors base engines by a long mile. It is a great improvement over that dinosaur of a 1.8L engine with 137-140 horsepower, but I am scared it may fall back because other manufacturers have optional more powerful offerings. I just really hope that this Corolla does so well because I am so sick of reviewers playing favoritism towards Honda. One thing I am confident about is the new and rumored to be much more improved 6-speed manual, the CVT with the launch gear (which is excellent from a standing start), much better suspension upgrades and finally a chassis that the Corolla deserves.

I'll be honest. I have never been so excited for a Corolla. There. I said it.

 

[RAL]

Impressive, but not a fan of the Tesla-esk almost floating tablet look ... doesn't seem to correlate with the luxurious character of the interior.

 

[spwolf]

- 2.0l 168hp engine with D4S, direct shift CVT or 6M with rev matching
- Standard full LED both front and back
- Standard 8" screen with Apple CarPlay, Alexa
- Standard smart key and automatic air
- Standard Toyota Safety System 2.0 with Full DRCC

- Available Dual zone, 8 way power seats, hud? (from pics)
- 800w JBL sound system
- AFS front lights
- 7" digital cluster

And this US spec Corolla, an affordable vehicle... what will it start at, under $20k? It will be a nice bargain.

In Europe we should get even more stuff, like AVS, two hybrids, sunroof... how expensive will it be? It seems same team from C-HR designed the interior and thats a big plus. C-HR interior looks great, especially Euro one with nice color options inside and outside.

Since they dropped base petrol in Europe, i really wonder where it will start? I bet it will be significantly more expensive.

https://www.netcarshow.com/toyota/20...lla_hatchback/

 

[spwolf]

Man I was so excited for this car until I saw the power levels.

https://www.toyota.com/upcoming-vehicles/corollahb/



What is essentially 170 horsepower eclipses all of its competitors base engines by a long mile. It is a great improvement over that dinosaur of a 1.8L engine with 137-140 horsepower, but I am scared it may fall back because other manufacturers have optional more powerful offerings. I just really hope that this Corolla does so well because I am so sick of reviewers playing favoritism towards Honda. One thing I am confident about is the new and rumored to be much more improved 6-speed manual, the CVT with the launch gear (which is excellent from a standing start), much better suspension upgrades and finally a chassis that the Corolla deserves.

I'll be honest. I have never been so excited for a Corolla. There. I said it.

realistically, difference in engines should be even bigger, since Corolla really bumped hp to 140 without bumping torque... due to new engine and D4S, I bet torque at 2000 rpmw is going to be at least 25% stronger. so I expect 8s 0-60, which is very reasonable.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

Looks good, and the features are very competitive now (LEDs, 6MT, Carplay). The vehicle is no longer hobbled by Scion product planning (iM no more)...will there be an XRS model? I don't see a moonroof on the cars in the pictures, just hope we get that feature here too.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

And this US spec Corolla, an affordable vehicle... what will it start at, under $20k? It will be a nice bargain.

It will be interesting to see what the MSRP will be, though this Corolla will offer even more value than the current iM. I still expect it to have discounts, much like the Civic it competes against. I've read about a few iMs selling for as low as $15K depending on the dealer discounts and rebates received...

In Europe we should get even more stuff, like AVS, two hybrids, sunroof... how expensive will it be? It seems same team from C-HR designed the interior and thats a big plus. C-HR interior looks great, especially Euro one with nice color options inside and outside.

It seems like ED2 did the work again, whereas the regular Corolla was done by the usual team designing cars for the more mundane Southeast Asian markets. We won't get the Hybrid version like you guys in Europe.

 

[CIF]

Very nice, and some impressive standard features. Totally unexpected debut, smart to debut the hatch before the sedan in the current market.

Full press release here with lots of fascinating details: http://pressroom.toyota.com/release...+toyota+corolla+hatchback+wows+2018+nyias.htm

For now, a small excerpt (bold emphasis mine):

TNGA isn’t just the genesis of Corolla Hatchback’s astute footwork and balance: An all-new TNGA-based powertrain is the heart of Corolla Hatchback’s Fun-To-Drive identity. Its 2.0-liter Dynamic-Force direct-injection inline four-cylinder engine (M20A-FKS) adopts the latest in Toyota technology and structural efficacies for gains in power, fuel efficiency, and cleaner emissions.

Quick to assumptions some of us were on the forums here. I wasn't sure that this was going to be an A Series engine, and turns out it is not. This arguably pays historical homage to the original M series engines, which were straight 6 and not I4 engines. I guess the homage is still somewhat there, as this is still an inline engine. So given this, I am not sure that the remaining yet-to-debut TNGA engines will be all M, A, or V series engines. We may see another one or two different engine series debut.

 

[Carmaker1]

This looks fantastic as I suspected. Maybe even better as that proposed GTi competitor. (whenever it hopefully appears) Wondering if this is the 290B car? The sedan is supposedly being developed under 150B for April 1, 2019 Job 1.

 

[Joaquin Ruhi]

Totally unexpected debut, smart to debut the hatch before the sedan in the current market.

While I was surprised to see the new iM-succeeding Corolla hatchback for North America debuting so soon after its 3rd-gen European Auris counterpart, it's natural that it would precede the next "international" (E170) Corolla sedan. Looking back at the current/outgoing models' debuts, the 2nd-gen Auris debuted at the September 2012 Paris Motor Show, while the E170 Corolla sedan wasn't unveiled until June 2013.

My suspicion/prediction is that the 2019 Corolla sedan will be carryover but with a shorter-than-12 months model year, and the next-gen (2020 MY / E190?) Corolla will go on sale in late spring/early summer 2019.

Speaking of which, if the JDM and International Corollas continue on their separate tracks for their next generations, and assuming that their 6-model year cycles continue, we should be seeing the next-gen (E180) "small" Japanese Corolla within the next couple of months.

Quick to assumptions some of us were on the forums here. I wasn't sure that this was going to be an A Series engine, and turns out it is not.

LOL! Guilty as charged. I was so convinced that the 2 and 2.5-liter Dynamic Force engines would be part of the same A series, and it turns out they're not. Indeed, I picked up on that as soon as I read the Toyota USA Newsroom release on the new Corolla hatchback and meant to post that here, but CIF did it first, and articulated it better than I would've.

Left unsaid by that Toyota USA Newsroom release is where North America's Corolla Hatchback will be built. In the U.S. Mississippi plant alongside the Corolla sedan? Imported from Japan like its predecessor? Or the first Toyota to be imported here from the United Kingdom?

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Best looking Corolla yet, *and* it's got the features to back it up. The true first gear on the CVT should help with acceleration feel, but we'll see how the reviews go.

 

[ssun30]

This actually looks very similar to one of the rumored GR sports render on a Japanese magazine a year ago. The looks department is definitely there. Be prepared for a 2.0T hot hatch in the near future.

Quick to assumptions some of us were on the forums here. I wasn't sure that this was going to be an A Series engine, and turns out it is not. This arguably pays historical homage to the original M series engines, which were straight 6 and not I4 engines. I guess the homage is still somewhat there, as this is still an inline engine. So given this, I am not sure that the remaining yet-to-debut TNGA engines will be all M, A, or V series engines. We may see another one or two different engine series debut.

The 'M' prefix makes more sense than 'A'. Historically Toyota used the same prefix for engines that share the same block (with same bore and varying stroke, most of the time). The M20 has the same bore and stroke as the 3ZR, while the A25 is derived from the AR block so these two should be different families. That's why I've cautiously used scare quotes for the "A20A" notation. But it's still hard to understand why 'M' which was historically an inline-6 family.

realistically, difference in engines should be even bigger, since Corolla really bumped hp to 140 without bumping torque... due to new engine and D4S, I bet torque at 2000 rpmw is going to be at least 25% stronger. so I expect 8s 0-60, which is very reasonable.

The M20A is, according to a Toyota engineer and the head of FAW/Toyota, directly comparable to the 2.5L 2AR-FE. This probably means low end torque delivery and responsiveness are no worse than the old 2.5L unit. So yes, this engine is in a completely different league compared to the dinosaur 1.8 (which was very weak in the low end).

 

[mikeavelli]

That is utterly fantastic... but is then the Corolla iM dead?

 

[spwolf]

That is utterly fantastic... but is then the Corolla iM dead?

It is same vehicle, so they are renaming it... also Yaris IA is called Yaris Sedan now, just got the PR.

 

[ssun30]

This looks fantastic as I suspected. Maybe even better as that proposed GTi competitor. (whenever it hopefully appears) Wondering if this is the 290B car? The sedan is supposedly being developed under 150B for April 1, 2019 Job 1.

What is the 260B program? It is listed as an "update" to the Corolla produced under FAW. This sounds strange since the E170 has only been produced by FAW for three years. Why do they think they need a mid-life refresh in 2018 when the TNGA 150B program is scheduled for 2019?

Interestingly the 260B program is accompanied by a "ZR engine refresh", which supposedly means upgrading the 8ZR-FXE with ESTEC package.

 

[spwolf]

What is the 260B program? It is listed as an "update" to the Corolla produced under FAW. This sounds strange since the E170 has only been produced by FAW for three years. Why do they think they need a mid-life refresh in 2018 when the TNGA 150B program is scheduled for 2019?

Interestingly the 260B program is accompanied by a "ZR engine refresh", which supposedly means upgrading the 8ZR-FXE with ESTEC package.

sounds about right.

 

[spwolf]

This looks fantastic as I suspected. Maybe even better as that proposed GTi competitor. (whenever it hopefully appears) Wondering if this is the 290B car? The sedan is supposedly being developed under 150B for April 1, 2019 Job 1.

How accurate is best car with their info? I was reading about ES and UX there and they mentioned how ES will come with 2.5l turbo from next year, will replace GS in Japan and how UX will come with 1.6l 3cly turbo with 240hp.... neither of those sounds really valid?

 

[CIF]

The 'M' prefix makes more sense than 'A'. Historically Toyota used the same prefix for engines that share the same block (with same bore and varying stroke, most of the time). The M20 has the same bore and stroke as the 3ZR, while the A25 is derived from the AR block so these two should be different families. That's why I've cautiously used scare quotes for the "A20A" notation. But it's still hard to understand why 'M' which was historically an inline-6 family.

The M20A is, according to a Toyota engineer and the head of FAW/Toyota, directly comparable to the 2.5L 2AR-FE. This probably means low end torque delivery and responsiveness are no worse than the old 2.5L unit. So yes, this engine is in a completely different league compared to the dinosaur 1.8 (which was very weak in the low end).

Huh, what does the M20A have to do with the 3ZR, aside from bore and stroke? The M20A, like the other TNGA engines, is a clean sheet design. It's not "derived from" the 3ZR. The M20A is physically smaller and lighter than the 2ZR, not even talking about the 3ZR. There are fundamental differences between the M20A and 3ZR, like dramatically different compression ratios, thermal efficiency, different valve angles, among many other things.

Likewise, the A25A is fundamentally different from the AR engine series due to similar reasons I outlined regarding the M20A vs 3ZR.

You can see all of this for yourself if you go through Toyota's technical information on the M20A and A25A.

 

[Bluesuprarcf52]

Looks fantastic for a daily commute car. Can't wait to see the sedan.